Dundee and Angus College estimates suffering a drop of £1m in funding since Brexit.
The loss is stated in a report written by Dundee City Council’s chief executive, Gregory Colgan, in which he lays out some of the local economic impact caused by the UK leaving the EU.
It comes after it was reported in March the college needs to make savings of £2.5m.
In the report, Mr Colgan acknowledges various funding packages provided by the UK Government since Britain left the world’s largest trading bloc at the end of January 2020.
Among these was an announcement in January that Dundee will be one of 111 areas awarded funding from a second round of the UK Government’s Levelling up Fund.
From this, the city will get £14.4 million towards redeveloping the Bell Street multi-storey car park into a sustainable transport hub, with 350 EV charging points.
However, he wrote: “Despite the allocations, the resources available for Dundee fall short of what would have been expected from the EU.”
Mr Colgan’s report is titled: “Brexit Update and proposed mainstreaming of ongoing post-Brexit work.”
This and other issues related to Brexit economic impact will be discussed by councillors at the local authority’s policy and resources committee on Monday.
‘College concerns since Brexit’
A spokesperson for Dundee and Angus College said: “Reduction in European funding has been a concern for D&A College since Brexit, as it is for the local region.
“Lack of access to funding previously available has not been effectively mitigated by alternative options for the college sector, which overall has some impact on the activity of D&A.”
‘Courses offered limited’
Mr Colgan’s report continues: “Dundee & Angus College estimates a drop of £1 million, affecting the courses they can offer, while there are limits on the funding the council would have liked to provide through Business Gateway.
“There is also uncertainty about funding beyond March 2025, affecting medium-term planning.
“A letter has been sent to the UK and Scottish Governments about the distribution formulas used for the allocation of new funding streams to replace EU funding, saying these take insufficient account of deprivation.”
Craig Duncan, Liberal Democrat councillor for Broughty Ferry, said: “A loss of £1m of precious funding for Dundee & Angus College.
“This an establishment which has local jobs for local people and provides education for local people, the loss of this amount – as a direct result, according to this report, of Brexit – is nothing short of catastrophic.”
“They’ve taken us away from what was never a perfect deal, but was arguably an awful lot better than where we are now and there’s no guarantee of any direct way back anymore.”
Willie Sawers, the council’s SNP administration finance spokesperson, said: “The financial costs to Dundee are vast, both for the public through the adverse impact on the cost of living crisis, but also the negative impact on businesses and the academic community.
“The report reveals that the average cost of household food bills have increased by £210 per year (across the UK).
“This is surely the craziest economic mismanagement by any UK Government in living memory.”
Conversation